Gareth Abreo and Kevin Speilman introduced themselves, and vice-versa for Board members they did not know.

Resignation and Election of President and Treasurer for 2013-2014

Eric Woodward resigned as President, and Jim Dyck was assumed to have done the same. Eric Woodward confirmed his interest in continuing on as President, and everyone agreed. Without opposition, he was acclaimed as President for 2013-2014.

In his absence Jim Dyck was also acclaimed as Treasurer without opposition. Everyone expressed their desire that he continue as Treasurer, and that his knowledge and experience within the BIA is an invaluable asset to the Board.

Random Assignment of Two (2) Year Terms to Four (4) Board Members

In the interest of preserving continuity with the Board of Directors as outlined in Section 26(1) of the Constitution of the Fort Langley BIA, two (2) year terms for 2013-2015 were randomly assigned to four (4) Directors, drawn from a water pitcher: Misty Vanpopta, Dixie Jacobson, Casey Smith, and Eric Woodward.

Eric Woodward reported that he attended a meeting with Roeland Zwaag and Gord Swystun at the Township of Langley Operations Centre regarding the tendering of the contract for design of the utilities conversion project, and processes from there. January 16, 2013.

Attended the Glenval Organics so-called "Information Meeting" regarding the application for a composting facility in Glen Valley. Eric reported that in his opinion the meeting was largely a farce, with no real information presented, and no attempt on the part of proponent to address concerns. January 16, 2013.

Attended the Regular Afternoon Meeting of Township Council for the public input opportunity and Council vote on the Heritage Alteration Permit (HAP) application for the Fort Professional Building on 96th Avenue, which was rejected by Council 5-4, and referred back to staff for improvements before further consideration. January 28, 2013.

Attended a stakeholder input session on the proposed revisions to the Township of Langley's filming guidelines. Eric reported that the Township of Langley intends to revise the guidelines in the Spring of 2013, with the intention of officially eliminating the current requirement for filming productions in Fort Langley to coordinate with the Fort Langley BIA's filming liaison. January 31, 2013.

Attended the Regular Afternoon Meeting of Township Council for the consideration of the Glenval Organics application to be endorsed and referred by Council to the Agricultural Land Commission. Eric reported that the application was not endorsed and not referred by Council to the ALC, by a unanimous vote of 9-0. February 4, 2013.

Treasurer's Report

On Jim Dyck's behalf, Casey Smith reported that the BIA has a current cash balance of $34,915, with known payables of approximately $1,800.

Streetscape Report

Casey Smith reported that there was nothing to report yet, as he was between work items.

He also outlined that he would like to start the necessary meetings to coordinate the relocation of the Fort Langley entrance sign on the north side of the Haldi Bridge, which is no longer applicable with the removal of the Albion Ferry.

Eric Woodward outlined that he was preparing grant applications for submission to the Township of Langley, due by February 28, 2013. He reported that he had spoken with David Leavers to avoid mistakes before they were submitted to the Township for review.

He explained that when looking at the details, the Cranberry Festival only qualifies for $5,000 under the Major Festivals Grant, not $10,000 as he had previously thought. The Cranberry Festival does not qualify for the additional $5,000 because it is not a two (2) day event, and does not generate any overnight stays within Langley.

He outlined that, with confirmation from the Board, he would complete applications for the Major Festivals Grant, the Community Grant, and a Banners Grant.

He outlined that the grant for the Board to carefully consider was the Nothing Without Effort Grant, which the BIA had applied for and received the two previous (2) years, but had not utilized.

Eric further suggested that perhaps a joint effort with the Heritage Society and Fort Langley Community Association (FLCA) to replace and improve pedestrian signage at the CN Station and elsewhere would be an achievable, applicable community project to consider.

Casey Smith and Dixie Jacobson expressed a general desire to apply for the grant, and make a better attempt to utilize it.

Kevin Speilman and Garth Abreo both offered to step forward and attempt coordination with the Heritage Society and the FLCA.

It was generally agreed to apply for all four (4) grants and for Kevin and Gareth to begin the process of coordination, assuming that the Nothing Without Effort Grant would be awarded to the BIA for this project.

DRAFT Banner Designs. Eric Woodward.

Eric Woodward reported that he felt there was now more time to consider a banner design, and that it seemed logical to prepare new banner designs only the completion of the utilities conversion, which was not not expected to complete until 2014 at the earliest.

Eric also outlined that he would like the Board to consider further the possibility of attempting a Student Banner Project, something that has been successful in Boulder, CO, in which every street banner was different, and became street-level artwork. He asked that they review the Downtown Boulder Student Banner Project for discussion at the March meeting.

DRAFT Business Plan for 2013-2014. Eric Woodward.

Eric apologized for the delay in getting this to the Board for its consideration in January, and that he was still working on it, and that it was about 75% completed. He expected to have it up for the Board's consideration by the end of the following week.

DRAFT Marketing Plan for Utilities Conversion. Eric Woodward.

Eric suggested that since the utilities conversion does not appear to be imminent, that he would pursue other BIA work items in the short term, and return to this in late Spring when a construction schedule is expected to be under discussion.

I.

OTHER BUSINESS

Office Lease Termination

Casey Smith noted that the rent is currently $300 per month, but that Bob Mauris had informed the BIA that the rent would be increasing to $600 per month. Casey suggested that the BIA cannot really afford $600 per month, $7,200 per year, for an office.

For BIA Board meetings, Casey suggested the Lions Club, for a small amount, and that it is usually available in the AM.

MOTION

Be it resolved that the Board of Directors hereby authorizes the termination of the month-to-month lease for the BIA office located at #3 - 9228 Glover Road, and all related services, with notice to vacate as of March 31, 2013, and to dispose of all office furniture.

MOVED BY

Andy Abreo

SECONDED BY

Casey Smith

CARRIED

Without Dissent

Transition of BIA Bookkeeping to Xero for 2013 Onward

MOTION

Whereas the current bookkeeping system prevents wider daily access to the bookkeeping records,Whereas online services such as Xero.com enable multiple people to access financial activity anytime,Whereas increased awareness and transparency of the BIA's financial decisions and status would be ideal,Be it resolved that the Board of Directors hereby authorizes the transition of BIA bookkeeping for 2013 onward to Xero.

MOVED BY

Casey Smith

SECONDED BY

Dixie Jacobson

CARRIED

Without Dissent

Annual General Meeting 2014

Eric Woodward outlined that he would like to move the Annual General Meeting from January to March to hopefully improve turnout.

Dixie Jacobson commented that she heard some people did not attend because there was no election.

Gareth Abreo wanted to ensure the Board follows up on Eric's question at the AGM about the possibility of cancelling the utilities conversion if the "trench" is not to be located in the street.

Casey Smith commented that in his opinion too many members wanted to be fed information and do not activity inform themselves, and that no one has ever called him for information, or with suggestions. The Board generally echoed this sentiment.

The Board agreed to tentatively schedule the next AGM for the 3rd week of March 2014.

Associate Membership Invoices 2013-2014

Eric Woodward outlined that he would like to change the year-over-year invoicing period for Associate Members to be March-to-March, and that he would start issuing invoices for Associate Membership in coordination with Jim Dyck starting this month.

Township of Langley Filming Guidelines Revisions 2013

Eric Woodward suggested to the Board that it formulate a written response to the proposed Filming Guidelines revisions, due by February 15, 2013.

Andy Abreo, Gareth Abreo and Eric Woodward all confirmed and outlined various negative experiences with some filming productions over the years. Andrew Abreo commented that they do not permit filming at the Lee's Market anymore as a result, and Gareth Abreo outlined that filming is a very rare occurrence now at Wendel's for the same reason.

The Board unanimously agreed on the following core points:

That the Township proceeding to propose the elimination of the Fort Langley liaison was a mistake, and not a positive development.

That the Township proposed this change to the Filming Guidelines to begin with, without even consulting the BIA, was unfortunate.

That the liaison is a positive requirement that prevents complaints as they happen, helps coordinate filming productions to address repetitive concerns based on local familiarity, and prevents film fatigue in Fort Langley.

That the Township is using the success of the Fort Langley liaison in preventing complaints over the years against it, in the sense that because there are few complaints precisely because of the involvement of the liaison, the Township no longer seems to recognize the need for a film liasion in Fort Langley.

That Cathy Miller has served the local business, residents and businesses very well, and is a unique asset that should be utilized, since she is a local resident that actually lives within the Business Improvement Area, knows all parties involved, and remains "on set" at all times to resolve complaints and issues, and that this is something Township staff simply cannot offer.

That not all filming productions are the same, and too many are simply unscrupulous, do not honour what they commit to, and generally take advantage of their near total, unconditional support from the Township.

That in many cases the economic development derived from filming negatively impacts the long-term economic development derived from a rejuvenated, high-end commercial area (eventually) free from disruption to visitors and local residents.

That often filming is not administered or distributed fairly, and that it benefits some businesses at the expense of others.

That Cathy Miller, as an official, required film liasion, on many occasions helped reduce the negative impacts from filming, and is an asset to the BIA membership that will now potentially be lost.

Additionally, the Board agreed to request formal date exclusions within Fort Langley to be outlined within the Filming Guidelines to include all of December, the week before and the weekend including Thanksgiving, and the entirety of all long weekends, such as BC Day and Canada Day.

Andy Abreo left the meeting at 11:09am.

Glenval Organics Compost Facility and the Fort Langley Truck Route

Eric Woodward outlined that, while it was defeated, the Glenval Organics application once again highlighted the risk posed by the truck route through the centre of the village.

Casey Smith and Gareth Abreo confirmed how noisy it can be, with Gareth outlining that when combined with the noise from the train, during some periods of the summer the noise can seem constant and overwhelming.

Dixie Jacobson reiterated this, with additional complaints about the environmental impacts from the fumes and dust it creates, and how this degrades the quality of the the street, especially during the summer months.

Eric Woodward outlined that he would like to see the BIA begin to develop a strategy for the removal of the truck route through Fort Langley, but that it would take a lot of planning, constant appeals to the Township, and fundraising.